Automated Neighbor Relation (ANR), also referred to as Automatic Neighbor Relation, was introduced to Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G networks as a feature of a Self-Optimizing Network. This feature allows an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) NodeB (abbreviated as EnodeB) in an LTE network to automatically populate its neighboring relations based on User Equipment (UE) activities in the neighborhood, such as handovers, tracking area updates and cell reselection. ANR allows an EnodeB to discover its neighboring EnodeB cells. Moreover, ANR enables an EnodeB to associate and identify all its exterior Radio Frequency (RF) signals that are propagated by its neighboring EnodeBs.
In a conventional handover scheme, a UE is attached to an EnodeB that provides the best RF signal quality with respect to the Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR). A source EnodeB will allow its attached UE to handover to its neighboring EnodeB (which has been defined by the ANR of the source EnodeB) when the SINR of the neighboring EnodeB becomes higher than that of the source EnodeB. However, in conventional systems, the EnodeB that provides a higher SINR may not be the best choice for handover when considering the UE's overall requirements or the network's traffic conditions.